POSTTRADE 360°

A group of 10 buy-side and sell-side entities, as well as industry associations, have jointly released a set of recommendations for the upcoming equities consolidated tape provider (CTP) in the EU, reports The Trade. The parties are endorsing a tape where data is “disseminated to users with an end-to-end latency of 100 milliseconds or faster”, for “as low a price as possible”.

Generation Life, an Australian life insurance company, has chosen Northern Trust to provide global custody and valuation reporting services for its portfolio, valued at AU$1.5 billion as of 31 January. The agreement includes a wide range of assets, such as domestic and international equities, bonds, foreign exchange, and SICAVs, according to a press release.

Pan-Nordic digital bank Nordnet Bank AB has gone live with Shareholder Disclosure Hub, an end-to-end international shareholder disclosure solution from fintech firm Broadridge. The move is to ensure that the bank aligns with the requirements under the updated Shareholder Rights Directive (SRDII).

Euroclear and Digital Asset have launched the first phase of a project aimed at improving collateral mobility using blockchain technology. The initiative, part of the Canton Global Collateral Network (GCN), will assess how Euroclear’s collateral management expertise can be applied to digital and crypto markets.

Derivatives marketplace CME Group and the The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) have announced plans to expand their long-standing cross-margining arrangement by December 2025. The aim of the expanded partnership is to provide end users with increased margin savings and capital efficiencies.

October 2027 may seem like a long way from now, but there is much to be done for T+1 transition and market participants should not delay. This was the overarching message behind Mark Francis’ speech at the recent industry event organised by the UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce (AST). The interim director of wholesale markets sell-side at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took to the stage to outline an action plan for market participants and the FCA’s approach to supporting the industry.

The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), one of the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organisations, has announced the appointment of Matt Rathbun as Chief Security Officer-Elect. Rathbun will take over from current CSO Mark Morrison, who is set to retire according to a OCC press release.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final report on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS), clarifying when a Central Securities Depository (CSD) reaches “substantial importance” in a host EU Member State. The criteria, developed under the CSDR Refit, aim to determine when a CSD’s activities require closer regulatory coordination through a supervisory college.

The AFME (Association for Financial Markets in Europe) has released a response  expressing support for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) expanded initiative for settling DLT-based transactions in central bank money. The response was made following the ECB’s announcement that it is looking to implement an interoperability solution that will make such transactions possible “in the shortest feasible time frame”.

Euronext CEO Stephane Boujnah is contemplating merger opportunities with Euroclear, reports UK-based Financial News (paywalled). In an interview with the publication, he reveals that Euronext is open to discussing a deal with the clearinghouse.